John Georges "Buck" Boucher (August 19, 1895 – October 17, 1960) was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who played for the Ottawa Senators, Montreal Maroons, and Chicago Black Hawks in the National Hockey Association and National Hockey League between 1915 and 1932. Born in Ottawa, Ontario, Buck was one of six brothers. His brothers Frank, Bobby and Billy all played in the NHL.[1] Their father Tom Boucher, played rugby football, winning the Canadian championship in 1894, 1896, 1897 and 1901. Boucher started his professional athletic career in football as halfback for the Ottawa Rough Riders of the Canadian Football League. After three years of football he switched to hockey. In 1921, he became the first defenceman to record a hat trick in an NHL playoff game; no other defenceman has ever surpassed this feat since.
| Georges Boucher | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Hockey Hall of Fame, 1960 | |||
 | |||
| Born |
August 19, 1895 Ottawa, Ontario, Canada | ||
| Died | October 17, 1960 (aged 65) | ||
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (175 cm) | ||
| Weight | 169 lb (77 kg; 12 st 1 lb) | ||
| Position | Defence | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for |
Ottawa Senators Montreal Maroons Chicago Black Hawks | ||
| Playing career | 1915–1933 | ||
Personal life
editGeorges was one of six sons born to Tom Boucher and Annie Carroll. His paternal grandfather, Antoine Boucher was French while his other grandparents were Irish in descent. His younger brothers Billy, Bob and Frank would also become professional ice hockey players. There were two other brothers, Carroll and Joseph, and two sisters, Irene and Lily. Their father Tom played rugby football, both for Ottawa College and for the Ottawa Rough Riders, winning the Canadian championship in 1894, 1896, 1897 and 1901. On the Ottawa Rough Riders, Tom Boucher was a teammate of Tom "King" Clancy, whose son was the famous hockey player Frank "King" Clancy.
In October 1916 Boucher enlisted with the Canadian military, joining the 207th (Ottawa-Carleton) Battalion, though he was discharged in December that year for unclear reasons. He re-enlisted in May 1917, this time joining the Signal Training Department. However he was again discharged, this time on account of a medical exam finding him to have a mitral regurgitation, or leaky heart, which made Boucher unfit to be a soldier.[2]
Buck's son, Frank Boucher, was the head coach of Canada's 1948 Olympic gold medal-winning ice hockey team – the Ottawa RCAF Flyers.[3][4]
Hockey career
editHe played as an amateur with the Ottawa Aberdeens and the New Edinburghs and Royal Canadians of the Ottawa City Hockey League teams. He started play with the Senators, then of the NHA, in 1915. At the time, he played as a forward.
Boucher would soon switch to play as a defenceman where he would gain fame as an excellent stick handler. He would play with stars such as Eddie Gerard, Horrace Merrill, Sprague Cleghorn, Lionel Hitchman and King Clancy.
Boucher played against his brother Frank in the 1923 Stanley Cup playoffs, which also featured brothers Cy and Corbett Denneny playing against each other. It marked the first time two different sets of brothers faced each other in an NHL or Big Four championship series.[1]
Boucher helped lead the Senators to four Stanley Cup championships between 1920 and 1927. He played in the NHL from 1917 to 1932, scoring 117 goals and 87 recorded assists in 449 games. An extremely tough customer, he also had 838 penalty minutes, including 115 in just 44 games in 1926–27. At his retirement in 1932 he ranked 11th among NHL career points leaders.
He would go on to coach in the NHL in Ottawa, Boston and St. Louis. He would coach the Ottawa Senators of the Quebec Hockey League to the Allan Cup in 1949.[5]
He suffered from throat cancer for six years and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1960, three weeks before he died.[5]
Career statistics
editRegular season and playoffs
edit| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1913–14 | Ottawa New Edinburghs | IPAHU | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1914–15 | Ottawa New Edinburghs | OCHL | 15 | 12 | 0 | 12 | — | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | ||
| 1914–15 | Ottawa Royal Canadians | OCHL | 4 | 6 | 0 | 6 | — | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | — | ||
| 1915–16 | Montreal La Casquette | MCHL | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1915–16 | Ottawa Senators | NHA | 19 | 9 | 1 | 10 | 62 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1916–17 | Ottawa Senators | NHA | 18 | 10 | 5 | 15 | 27 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8 | ||
| 1917–18 | Ottawa Senators | NHL | 21 | 9 | 8 | 17 | 46 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1918–19 | Ottawa Senators | NHL | 17 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 29 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 9 | ||
| 1919–20 | Ottawa Senators | NHL | 22 | 9 | 8 | 17 | 55 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1919–20 | Ottawa Senators | St-Cup | — | — | — | — | — | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 1920–21 | Ottawa Senators | NHL | 23 | 11 | 8 | 19 | 53 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 10 | ||
| 1920–21 | Ottawa Senators | St-Cup | — | — | — | — | — | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 9 | ||
| 1921–22 | Ottawa Senators | NHL | 23 | 13 | 12 | 25 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 1922–23 | Ottawa Senators | NHL | 24 | 14 | 9 | 23 | 58 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 1922–23 | Ottawa Senators | St-Cup | — | — | — | — | — | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | ||
| 1923–24 | Ottawa Senators | NHL | 21 | 13 | 10 | 23 | 38 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 1924–25 | Ottawa Senators | NHL | 28 | 15 | 5 | 20 | 95 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1925–26 | Ottawa Senators | NHL | 36 | 8 | 4 | 12 | 64 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | ||
| 1926–27 | Ottawa Senators | NHL | 40 | 8 | 3 | 11 | 115 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 43 | ||
| 1927–28 | Ottawa Senators | NHL | 43 | 7 | 5 | 12 | 78 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 1928–29 | Ottawa Senators | NHL | 29 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 60 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1928–29 | Montreal Maroons | NHL | 12 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1929–30 | Montreal Maroons | NHL | 37 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 50 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 1930–31 | Montreal Maroons | NHL | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1931–32 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 43 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 30 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 1932–33 | Boston Cubs | Can-Am | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHA totals | 37 | 19 | 6 | 25 | 89 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 8 | ||||
| NHL totals | 449 | 117 | 87 | 204 | 838 | 28 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 88 | ||||
| St-Cup totals | — | — | — | — | — | 16 | 6 | 1 | 7 | 17 | ||||
Coaching record
editNational Hockey League
edit| Team | Year | Regular season | Post season | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | L | T | Pts | Division rank | Result | ||
| Montreal Maroons | 1930-31 | 12 | 6 | 5 | 1 | (46) | 3rd in Canadian | Lost in league quarter-finals (1-8 vs. NYR) |
| Ottawa Senators | 1933-34 | 48 | 13 | 29 | 6 | 32 | 5th in Canadian | Did not qualify |
| St. Louis Eagles | 1934-35 | 35 | 9 | 20 | 6 | (28) | 5th in Canadian | Did not qualify |
| Boston Bruins | 1949-50 | 70 | 22 | 32 | 16 | 60 | 5th in NHL | Did not qualify |
| NHL totals | 165 | 50 | 86 | 29 | 129 | 0-2 (0.000) | ||
Canadian-American Hockey League
edit| Team | Year | Regular season | Post season | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | L | T | Pts | Division rank | Result | ||
| Boston Cubs | 1932-33 | 48 | 21 | 18 | 9 | 51 | 3rd in CAHL | Won in league semi-finals (2-0 vs. PRO) Won Fontaine Cup (3-2 vs. PHI) |
| Springfield Indians | 1935-36 | 48 | 21 | 22 | 5 | 47 | 3rd in CAHL | Lost in league semi-finals (1-2 vs. PRO) |
| CAHL totals | 96 | 42 | 40 | 14 | 98 | 6-4 (0.600 - 1 Fontaine Cup) | ||
International-American Hockey League
edit| Team | Year | Regular season | Post season | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | L | T | Pts | Division rank | Result | ||
| Springfield Indians | 1936-37 | 48 | 22 | 17 | 9 | 53 | 2nd in East | Won in division semi-finals (2-1 vs. PRO) Lost in division finals (0-2 vs. PHI) |
| Springfield Indians | 1937-38 | 48 | 10 | 30 | 8 | 28 | 4th in East | Did not qualify |
| IAHL totals | 96 | 32 | 47 | 17 | 81 | 2-3 (0.400) | ||
Quebec Provincial Hockey League
edit| Team | Year | Regular season | Post season | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | L | T | Pts | Division rank | Result | ||
| Quebec Castors | 1939-40 | 41 | 13 | 25 | 3 | 29 | 8th in QPHL | Did not qualify |
| QPHL totals | 41 | 13 | 25 | 3 | 29 | 0-0 (0.000) | ||
Quebec Senior Hockey League
edit| Team | Year | Regular season | Post season | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | L | T | Pts | Division rank | Result | ||
| Ottawa Senators | 1946-47 | 40 | 26 | 10 | 4 | 56 | 1st in QSHL | Won league semi-finals (3-1 vs. SF) Lost league finals (2-4-1 vs. MTL) |
| Ottawa Senators | 1947-48 | 48 | 35 | 11 | 2 | 72 | 1st in QSHL | Won league semi-finals (4-3 vs. SF) Won league finals (4-1 vs. QUE) Won Quebec Senior Playoffs (2-1 vs. VIC) Won Eastern Canada Allan Cup Playoffs (3-2-1 vs. HAM) Lost Allan Cup finals (1-4 vs.EDM) |
| QSHL totals | 88 | 61 | 21 | 6 | 128 | 19-16-2 (0.541) | ||
NHL Records (1)
edit- Most goals, defenceman, playoff game: 3 (tied with 10 other players) on March 10, 1921[6]
References
edit- ^ a b McEvoy, Colin (February 9, 2023). "The Ultimate Sibling Rivalry: 8 Sets of Brothers Who Faced Off in Sports Championships". Biography. Retrieved February 12, 2023.
- ^ MacLeod 2018, p. 134
- ^ "Classic Auctions | Hockey Memorabilia and Sports Cards".
- ^ "History-1948 Winter". Archived from the original on 2011-06-04.
- ^ a b MacLeod 2018, p. 136
- ^ https://records.nhl.com/records/playoff-skater-records/scoring-by-a-defenseman/most-goals-defenseman-one-game-playoff
Bibliography
edit- Globe and Mail. Toronto. October 16, 1960.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - MacLeod, Alan Livingstone (2018), From Rinks to Regiments: Hockey Hall-of-Famers and the Great War, Victoria, British Columbia: Heritage House, ISBN 978-1-77203-268-0
External links
edit- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or Legends of Hockey, or The Internet Hockey Database
- Georges Boucher at Find a Grave